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I write. It’s what I do. It’s how I keep myself sane. Mostly it’s short stories, poems and rants. I admire people who have the presence of mind to put together full books – I don’t. I get caught up with semantics and worry far too much about how people will pick apart each paragraph to be satisfied with anything I write beyond 10 pages long. A definite fault on my part but I’ve come to accept that part of me.
I’ve read, re-read, re-re-read Ender’s game and am still happy with what I read. I find no need to pick apart details – I just plainly love the book. In some ways, it’s the one single book that makes me kick myself for not having the drive to set my mind to something and simply accept that people may not love it. I’m okay with investing a month or so of my life into something and having people rip me apart, I guess I’m still not confident enough to invest a year or so of my life into something and listening to the ripping…
There are few books in my life I can go back to and read more than once with an enthusiasm comparable to the first time I turned each page… The Color Purple, Parable of the Sower, Twilight Eyes, The Ship Who Sang, Ender’s Game. I might be forgetting one – I don’t think of them all the time. Most of those are the books I find when looking in the case for something to pick up when nothing new strikes my fancy and by looking simply at the binding, I know I’ll be satisfied with a re-read. I should say that I don't think about those books with one exception – Ender’s Game. I think about that book almost every day. I think about the scenario’s that play out, I think about some of the quotes, I think about some of the characters daily. I’m not sure what it is about that one book yet I’m certain it’s played some role in the person I have come to be.
One strange variant I find, though, is that Ender’s Game hasn’t really influenced the way I write in terms of style. I still dig on my own weird ways quite dissimilar to the style in the book. Actually, this whole post is a different sort of style/exercise for me… No real reason for this post other than wondering – is there one book that has helped to shape you? Is there one story that reaches a place inside you more dramatically than any other? If you write and your answer was yes, has that book influenced your writing style?
I was asked recently about my habits (re: reading, writing, randomly deep conversation about both with random people) and it made me think about it a little more when I was by myself with my computer on my lap. I thought about it and wondered what others thought about it. Sorry this post is so long – I probably scared some people off by the length itself – but if you have any thoughts I’m interested…
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I read books like crazy, and rarely re-read any of them. I always think I might, which is why I have a couple hundred on shelves in my room, but I rarely do. I have a hard time picking out any one or even several favorites. They're changing all the time.
I also don't know if I would say that any books or writers have really influenced my style. I'm sure that they all do, in a way, but it's difficult for me to pinpoint any particular style that I have, so I don't know who I might compare it to.
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